News:

27 March 09 -

  • Quite a while since my last update. Been busy with a few PA Council for the Arts Artist in Residence programs, a new CD for Smash the Windows and life, in general.
  • All Open Contra Band (OCD) Band members for the Central PA Country Dance Association April 17, 2009 Contra should check out the new resources on my page. There is Phillip J. Facoline's Ultimate Guitar Chord Chart and John Walsh's Irish Session Tune book. I've also included a link to John Lamancusa's Tussey Mountain Old Time Jam tune book. While you're at it, check out BBC Radio's Virtual Session for a virtual Irish session.
  • The Gnutones, featuring Henry Koretsky on mandolin and guitar, myself, Bruce Young, on fiddle and Jill Smith on piano, are still going strong with a contra dance in Elverson, PA. If you like our music, you can help me out a lot by asking your dance organizers to bring us (back) to your hall.
  • The latest band project is Smash the Windows and consists of pianist Peg Shutes, flute-whistle-concertina player Patty Lambert and I with other folks sitting in as circumstances dictate. Our next date is a Civil War Period Ball March 28 at the annual Corbit's Charge Re-Enactment at Westminster, MD then April 25 for the Penn State Campus Ministries' Barn Dance in Linden Hall, PA. Check Smash The Windows MySpace page for photos and tunes.

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  • PA Humanities Council is supporting me (along with a couple hundred other presenters) by including PA Mountain Voices and Songs of the Labor Movement in their Speakers' Roster. This is a really cool resource offered at no cost to non-profit presenters! That's right, it's fully funded for libraries, schools and other non-profit organizations. If you're interested/eligible for these performances, go to their web site and check it out: PA Humanities Council.
  • Fiddle Fantastick Workshops now has a FREE Irish fiddle lesson (OK, maybe there are three to six lessons worth of material there but still FREE)! The lesson is based on Dave Richardson's great jig, Calliope House. It features four MP3 audio files including a setting culled from The Portland Collection with typical Sligo-style ornaments I like to use and three other MP3 files explaining the performance and where the ornamnents are used in the tune.
  • The only drawback is the usual Yahoo crazy policy of shutting down the site every time somebody downloads part of the content. It will come back up the next day or so but it's really annoying that you can't download a couple MB without exceeding their "download quota"! C'mon, Yahoo, it's free content! Get with the 90's and open it up a little.
  • I've posted links to many of the venues' websites on my Contacts page, too. Check it out.
  • You can email me with comments on the Contacts page or use the Guestbook; I'd like to hear from you!


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